Seilers need every bit of first-round lead to win Bluestone title

OXFORD – The duo of Todd and Rik Seiler needed every last bit of a four-stroke, first-round lead to hold off a trio of hard-charging teams at the Bluestone Golf Course Men’s Member-Guest Tournament Sunday.

Todd Seiler overcame a poor tee shot on the 18th hole draining a 30-foot undulating putt allowing his team to shoot a 4-under-par 66 and hold on for a one-shot win over Bryan Smith and Jeremy Rickard. Smith and Rickard made up three strokes of a four-shot deficit and also birdied the final hole as well for a 63.

“We heard the talk on the back nine (about the low scores on the course), and we said to ourselves, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me,’” Rik Seiler said. “Yesterday we hit the ball great and probably could have shot a 60. Today, we didn’t hit the ball close to the hole at all, and it’s tough to score when you’re left with 20-footers for birdie all day.”

A nearly-flawless first-round 64 had the two Seilers up big and in a comfort zone. They realistically could not have expected teams situated at the bottom of the championship flight to make a strong run, but a couple of those tandems did.